Sociologist, Professor, Author
I enjoyed the opportunity to give a series of lectures at Tennessee Wesleyan in Athen, TN. The first, "The Place of Diversity in Contemporary U.S. Religion" drew from my award-winning book Parish and Place to understand the mutual role of generalist and specialist organizations as a way to achieve unity in diversity. The second, "Religious …
[Excerpt] "Bruce deftly manages multiple axes of inquiry and data across six chapters, probing how place and purpose—the two organizational principles shaping the experience of American Catholic life—interact...[...]...The work of Parish and Place opens up a door for important further pastoral and ecclesiological investigation. In these fragmented times, it is genuinely difficult to discern how …
My book, Parish and Place: Making Room for Diversity in the American Catholic Church, has received an honorable mention distinguished book award from the American Sociological Association's Religion Section! I was grateful to accept this award at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association this weekend in Philadelphia. With 32 books nominated, it is an …
The sociology of religion benefits from cross-cultural comparisons and non-Western thinking. My participation in the 2018 Symposium of Social Science of Religion at Remnin University in Beijing, China was immensely valuable toward this goal. Grateful for the chance to convene among area scholars and students whose work is poised to change our shared field.
Thanks to Jesús Antonio Serrano Sánchez for translating my article, "Polarized Preferences, Polarized Pews" into Spanish for publication in the Mexican journal Puertas Lumen Gentium (Universidad Católica Lumen Gentium). The article originally appeared in my coedited volume, Polarization in the US Catholic Church (Liturgical 2016). Dr. Sánchez' reflection and response ("Necesidad de la Parroquia Personal en …
Continue reading Spanish Translation of “Polarized Preferences, Polarized Pews”
The YWCA Knoxville & the Tennessee Valley has served women and families in Knoxville for 108 years, dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. I am honored to be nominated and selected as a finalist for the 2018 Tribute to Women, in the "Arts and Education" category. …
Continue reading Honored to be a finalist in Knoxville YWCA’s 34th annual Tribute to Women
Thanks to Knoxville's WBIR news station for drawing attention to one of my current book projects: an exploration of buildings that go from religious use (i.e. "church") into other purposes. I've colloquially called these "church conversions," recognizing that (1) most (though not all) of the adaptive reuse of houses of worship are impacting buildings once …
Continue reading TV coverage of my ongoing research on “church conversions”
